Afghanistan’s Crippled Power Grid Exposes Vulnerability of Besieged Capital - nytimes

KABUL, Afghanistan — When saboteurs crippled the Afghan capital’s power supply last month, the tailors in Najeebullah’s clothing shop had to abandon their electric sewing machines for hand-cranked models. Their output fell by half.

“I’ve lost nearly $215 since the power cuts,” Mr. Najeebullah, a gentle-mannered man with a gray beard, said. “I have four tailors to pay, whether they sew two outfits a day or four. And I have to pay my rent and feed my staff, whether I make money or not.”

“I’ve lost nearly $215 since the power cuts,” Mr. Najeebullah, a gentle-mannered man with a gray beard, said. “I have four tailors to pay, whether they sew two outfits a day or four. And I have to pay my rent and feed my staff, whether I make money or not.”

Three decades of conflict have taught Afghans to be resilient and adaptable, but the latest hardships have further soured the mood in this city of five million people.

A series of deadly Taliban bombings in the capital since the start of the year have unnerved Afghans and Western officials increasingly concerned about the deteriorating security. Then, on Jan. 27, the lines that carry much of Kabul’s electricity south from Uzbekistan were cut in Baghlan Province, in an area marked by savage fighting between Afghan troops and insurgents. Attacks since then have also knocked out lines from Tajikistan, cutting the capital’s power supply by about 80 percent.

Every day brings promises by the government that the lights will be on again soon, but the cables fell in areas contested or controlled by the Taliban, suggesting a lasting restoration will be possible only with the acquiescence of the insurgents.

Many homes and most large businesses here already have backup generators. But the privations are another disappointment for a long-suffering people. The creation of a modern power grid, paid for by international donors, was one of Afghanistan’s signature achievements after the ouster of the Taliban in 2001. Only 5 percent of Afghans had electricity then, compared with 40 percent today, according to Qudratullah Delawari, the chief executive of DABS, Afghanistan’s national power company.

Since the lines were cut at the end of January, virtually no one in the capital has uninterrupted power, and many are lucky to get any at all.

So much of everyday commerce and modern social life, even in Kabul, is conducted online, and every temporary return of power creates a dash to surf the web and recharge electrical devices. - Read More at the NYT
Afghanistan's Crippled Power Grid Exposes Vulnerability of Besieged Capital